MTA chairman expected to relinquish post

Joseph J. Lhota, the chairman of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, will be stepping down from his position on Friday, Dec. 22, according to a report in today’s New York Times. He is expected to pursue a candidacy for New York City mayor as a Republican.

Lhota, a former deputy mayor under Rudolph W. Giuliani, “was widely hailed after the MTA restored much of its subway service within a week of suffering unprecedented damage from Hurricane Sandy,” The Times reported. “Under a public officers’ law, he cannot run for mayor and keep his job at the transportation authority. . . . A former executive vice president for the Madison Square Garden Company, Lhota is well known among the city’s political and business elite, some of whom have recently clamored for him to enter the race.”

During his MTA tenure, Lhota has authorized MTA New York City Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast to conduct the duties of the chairman in his absence. There is speculation that Prendergast will be appointed to succeed Lhota as MTA chairman.